


An Emerald Will

by quiplash



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-09-25 03:43:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9801197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiplash/pseuds/quiplash
Summary: A mysterious new superhero named Green Lantern appears in National City. Unbeknownst to Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor is under the mask. Nothing will ever be the same for either woman.(Takes place after 2.12, but Mon-El is nowhere to be seen.)Follow meon Tumblr for updates





	1. Brightest Day

“Green Lantern?” Kara did her best to keep the skepticism from her voice, but she couldn't help it. Martians made sense to her. Aliens of every race and species were a fact from her time on Krypton. She knew beings with marvelous, breathtaking abilities, but what J'onn was describing to her now felt absurd.

“Rumor has it there's a Corp of them, spread out amongst the stars. Their job isn't unlike ours – to keep the worlds under their watchful eyes safe from threats.” He shifted his focus back to the footage that had prompted this meeting. Maggie had gotten word about a group of black market arms dealers. Her informant said that whatever these dealers had acquired, it could take down Supergirl. Before the D.E.O. could come up with a plan to storm the warehouse, this new player had taken down the entire gang. The video didn't show much - only a green blur whooshing by, flashes of light, then the same blur whooshing way. Given the green light, Kara – and everyone else at the D.E.O. - had suspected a Kryptonite-powered weapon. Those fears were quashed when their sweep of the warehouse showed no radiological markers for the dangerous element. And in the weeks since the raid, reports had trickled in of a woman in a black and green suit with matching green mask saving people. Whoever this new player was, they weren't evil. But it had been weeks and nobody at the D.E.O. could figure out what their agenda was...until J'onn uttered the phrase “Green Lantern.”

Kara crossed her arms, assuming a defensive posture. “So if they're here for a public good, why haven't they made themselves known to us? You'd think they'd want to team up.” Her voice was tinged with the slightest amount of hurt. This was Kara's city, after all. She'd done the hard work. It wasn't fair for someone else to...one-up her. As soon as she thought it, she pushed that thought away. National City wasn't some territory. She could play nice. If J'onn had heard her selfish musings, he didn't disclose it. She was thankful for that.

Kara's phone buzzed. She picked it up and saw an email from Snapper. “Well, I might get a chance to do some more investigating.” She held up her phone. “Snapper wants to figure out who the vigilante is.” Kara made her way toward the door.  
“It's Green Lantern,” J'onn said.  
“I'm not calling her that,” Kara yelled back over her shoulder.

An hour later she was over at L-Corp, riding the elevator up to the CEO's suite. Quelle surprise, Snapper wanted Lena Luthor's take on what had happened. It was only the third time since Lena had sent her all those flowers that Kara had seen L-Corp's radiant CEO. The first time, they sat on a couch and Lena had said Kara was her hero. The words, and Lena's keen, knowing smile, had set loose a wellspring of emotions and feelings inside of Kara. Rather than be scared of it, though, Kara had wanted more contact to make sure the feelings she felt were real. After Cat Grant sent her a long email concluding in no uncertain terms that her budding relationship with Mon-El was nothing more than his repeated attempts to guilt her into liking him, she didn't want to rush.

Lena, though, had pulled away from Kara after that night. Kara hoped it wasn't something she'd done. Maybe she'd not hid her reaction to the flowers as well as she thought...or maybe she'd hid it too well. Either way, Lena had thrown herself into work. That was the company line that Jess gave her when Kara stopped by every day that first week. The second week, she only caught a glimpse of Lena as she made for the elevator. “Sorry, Kara – board meeting. Gotta go.” Kara caught Lena's furtive glance to Jess.

Before Kara could follow up, Jess had intercepted her. The young Asian woman's smile was cheery, even if her eyes belied the uncertainty and worry that Kara knew too well only came from covering for your high-powered boss. “Oh! Um, yes. Ms. Luthor is very busy. If you have any questions I can pass them along to the L-Corp PR offices and they'll make sure Ms. Luthor gets back to you in a timely fashion.” She let it slide, though, because going through what Lena had was bound to leave someone with some things to unpack.

She was surprised, then, when Jess told her that Lena was in her office and that Kara could go in whenever she wished. Kara took a beat to collect herself. She was nervous. Rao, she was so nervous. As she pushed open the doors to Lena's office, though, her fear melted. There was Lena, as radiant as ever, right in front of her. Lena broke into a wide, easy smile when she saw Kara enter the room.

“Hi, Kara. Come on in,” Lena gestured to the couch. Kara followed her lead and sat down.  
“Are you here as a friend, or a reporter?”  
“A reporter.” She saw Lena’s smile waver and quickly added, “and a friend”.  
Lena leaned forward. “How can I help my favorite reporter...and friend?”  
“Well, I need a quote. There’s a new vigilante in town and Snapper wants me to get your thoughts.”  
“You mean Guardian?”  
“No, um...the other one. A woman, uses some kind of green energy?”  
For a moment, Kara swore she heard Lena's heartbeat accelerate, but then it calmed. Lena shook her head.  
“I haven't. Why do you think she's a vigilante?”  
Kara adjusted her glasses. “Well, she's operating outside of the law.”  
“Supergirl operates outside the law.”  
“That's not true. She's got the D.E.O. on her side. And, y'know...she's good friends with the President.”

Lena chuckled. “Well, all the same I don't really have much to say about whoever this...Green Light person is. But good for her - we need more Supergirls, fewer Supermen. Hey, there’s your quote.” Kara furrowed her brow. Something was off with Lena. It was as if everything that had happened – being framed, being abducted, almost dying – hadn't registered for her at all. Instead, Lena was positively cheery.

“What's wrong?” Lena inquired. “You're doing that crinkle again.”  
Kara gave a quick shake of her head. “Nothing! It's just...the last time we talked you seemed like you were in a very different place. Did something...change?”  
Lena shrugged. “I guess I just decided that I can't let my mother or anyone else control my life. Fear stops you from acting.”  
“Well, for what it's worth I really like this new attitude.”

Lena's voice dropped to a whisper, the words silken as she spoke them: “I thought you would.” There was a tenderness to her voice that Kara had never heard before. Lena was – in this moment – vulnerable. No pretense, no sardonic edge to protect herself. It surprised Kara. It was only when she realized that her own heartbeat had climbed rapidly that she cleared her throat.  
“I should really get back to CatCo,” she said. “Thanks for the quote.”  
Lena nodded her head and stood, Kara following suit. “Any time.” Kara was anticipating another hug. But Lena's hands stayed by her hips as they stood there. Maybe Lena was expecting her to take the lead. Kara fidgeted, jutting forward a shoulder and lifting her hand. “I...uh...” Lena took a confused, tentative step toward her, then reached out and shook Kara's hand. “Thanks again.”  
They continued to shake hands. “Yeah, no. It's um...that's what friends are for.” Three seconds ticked by, then four, then five - the shake moving from friendly to awkward. Kara never appreciated exactly how long Lena's fingers were until that moment. As the shake continued into its seventh second, Lena unclasped her hand from Kara's.  
“Okay,” Kara said, letting out a sigh she didn't know she'd been holding. “I'm gonna-” she gestured for the door. She paused for another moment, then turned. As she stalked toward the door, her brow furrowed. Why couldn't she have just been normal?

Kara met with Alex a week later for lunch at her favorite restaurant. She'd been fixated on two things ever since that day – her awkward interactions with Lena Luthor and how there was no more progress on finding the identity of this new vigilante. Kara refused to call her Green Lantern; “it's a dumb name”, she insisted. Since she'd already been through the lack of progress about the vigilante with Alex at the DEO, Kara turned the conversation back to Lena.  
“I'm just worried that she might be repressing. I mean, something just seems...off with her, y'know?”  
Alex shook her head. “If Lena really is repressing this, then ripping off that band-aid is only going to make it worse. You just have to be there for her, okay?”  
“Okay. You're right.”  
“You don't want another Mon-El on your hands.”  
Kara pouted. “When will everyone let that go?”  
“He willingly turned himself over to a bunch of creepy space aliens after your rejected him. Probably not gonna live that one down. Like...ever.”  
Kara begrudgingly admitted that maybe Alex had a point about Mon-El, then caught the attention of a nearby waiter. She gestured to the plate of potstickers in front of her, then mouthed “another”.  
“Hang on. That's your third plate of potstickers. You only do that when we're discussing someone you really like and you need the comfort food...”  
Kara gigglesnorted at the statement, following it with a quick “what?” Kara shook her head back and forth quickly. “No. I don't do that. Like ever.”  
“This is why I say you're a terrible liar.” Flustered, Kara tossed a crumpled napkin toward Alex. It unfurled mid-air, caught the resistance of the air, and swished harmlessly past Alex. “Oooh. Really showed me there!” Alex said mockingly.  
A thunderous crash interrupted Kara's witty rejoinder. Alex sighed. “I'll pick up the check. Again.”  
Kara gave a bashful grin. “Sorry.”

She raced to the scene of the noise – a three-story jet black structure made from steel and glass. Emblazoned along the side was National City Central Banking. Kara scoffed. “A bank robbery? Who do these guys think they're up against?” Criminals tended to avoid going for big scores like this after Kara had foiled a string of sophisticated heists. Still, you couldn't get through to every low-life, despite how much she tried. Kara was still high in the air, sweeping the perimeter with her X-ray vision when she saw the green glow streak in through the front doors.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Kara grumbled to herself, before giving chase to the vigilante.  
When she got inside, she saw the vigilante firing a ball of energy at one of the bank robbers. It caught the poor sap right between her ribs and sent her tumbling to the ground. Another robber took the moment while the vigilante was distracted to aim a gun at her. Kara's breath hitched. She couldn't make it in time and her vision was blocked. Whoever the vigilante was, they were about to die. The gun went off and Kara expected the vigilante to fall toward the ground. Instead, there was a flash of green as the bullet ricocheted off the vigilante. Kara found herself impressed.

One of the other bank robbers noticed her. “Supergirl,” said the robber, the voice muffled by her mask. Kara turned to see the bank robber lob something her way. Out of reflex, she caught it. “Hah! Just like the old woman said!” gloated the bank robber. A wave of pain stabbed into Kara's ears as the sonic device assaulted her. She let out a pained cry, falling to her knees. The room began to spin. She thought she heard a voice, one that was familiar and tender, call out “Supergirl!” as well. She couldn't tell. Kara slumped to the floor. The pain was so intense she barely registered the flashes of green light. It was only when the stabbing pain was gone that Kara noticed she was being held by the vigilante. Kara finally got a good look at her savior – was that the energy from the vigilante, or were her eyes actually green? Whatever it was, it was a distinct and wonderful shade – different than her suit or the mask that covered much of her face.

“Are you okay?” mouthed Green Lantern. Kara’s eyes went wide.  
“Oh Rao, I’m-”  
Green Lantern broke into a laugh. “I was messing with you.” Kara heard that loud and clear. Kara narrowed her eyes.  
“I do have heat vision, y’know…”

The vigilante crooked an eyebrow, a self-assured smirk on her face. “Looks like you're getting your bearings. Which means it's time I was off. Nice meeting you, Supergirl. I'm Green Lantern.”

Then she leaned forward, giving Kara a quick kiss on the forehead. Kara blamed the final bout of disorientation on the sonic device, even if it had started the moment the vigilante’s lips made contact. Then, the vigilante - no, Green Lantern - was lifting up from the ground. She kept her gaze on Kara as she did. Kara noted that her flight wasn't exactly stable – she hovered precariously, as though something were draining her powers. Then Green Lantern looked away, her power flaring, and was gone.


	2. Legacies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After saving Supergirl's life, Lena has to come to terms with the media - and Jess has to come to terms with herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted this early because of the unmitigated clusterfrack that was 2.13.

Jess burst into Lena's office, an exuberant grin on her face. She was holding a copy of CatCo magazine in her hands.  
“Is that it?” Lena didn't bother trying to hide it - she was excited, too.  
“Yessss!” Jess' voice was a bell being struck, the chord it elicited high, bright, and resonant as she hurried her way over to Lena's desk. It had been only a few days since the bank robbery, but news had broken that CatCo was going to officially “name” the vigilante. Jess laid the magazine out for Lena to see. A smile spread across the CEO's face – there was a picture of her without the word “Luthor” next to it. Instead, it just said “Green Lantern”. She was in her costume, firing a blast of energy from her ring.

“And here I thought being a CEO made me look powerful...” Lena mused, picking through the pages of the magazine with her exquisitely manicured hands. When she finally found the article, she broke into a wide grin. The by-line said “Kara Danvers”.  
“What does it say?” Jess was giddy.  
“'Not much is known about this new vigilante, though credible government sources-'” Lena looked up at Jess, still smiling. “Kara could just say Supergirl at this point, right? I mean...she's not fooling anyone by saying 'credible government sources'. She's got the one source. And it's Supergirl.” Jess crooked an eyebrow at Lena. “But I digress...ah! 'The vigilante is considered by some to be a blessing and others to be...'”  
Lena's mouth opened slightly, then closed.  
“Lena?” Jess prodded, doing her best to remain upbeat despite the tears welling in her boss' eyes.  
“'...to be a menace.'” She closed the magazine, drew in a deep breath, then stood.  
“Can you have Kara come over at her earliest convenience?”  
“Lena.”  
Lena flicked her wrist. “I'm not angry, Jess. I just...I need to hear her side of the story.”  
“You also need a hug.” Jess stepped around the side of the desk, arms open wide. Lena relented, embracing her assistant-turned-friend and confidant.

A month ago, Lena wouldn't have let Jess stay in her office for more than a few minutes, let alone hug her; and in any other scenario, their fast friendship would have been anomalous. This past month, though, had rewritten what Lena considered normal. It all started the morning after Lena had been rescued. Jess arrived, as she usually did, at 7AM sharp – thirty minutes ahead of when Ms. Luthor usually arrived. As the time ticked closer to 7:30, Jess shifted anxiously in her chair. She wasn't sure how to say “hello” after Ms. Luthor had been abducted by her mother and promptly saved from certain death by the superhero she's always flirting with. As the elevator dinged, Jess decided the best course of action was continuity. Nothing needed to change, which meant a curt “Good morning, Ms. Luthor” as Lena strode wordlessly into her office. On occasion, Lena would stop to chat. It wasn't that Ms. Luthor wasn't interested, she was always just...off somewhere in her head, some greater crisis with L-Corp needing to be solved.

Which is why she wasn't surprised when Lena Luthor walked past her without saying a word. About a half-hour later, Jess heard Lena call her name. Jess stood, smoothed the wrinkles in her dress, then made her way over to the doors of Lena's office. She wasn't sure why, but her heart was pounding. Jess had lived in National City long enough to know that abductions by evil family members had a tendency to end with the abductee going evil. She hoped this wasn't the case with Ms. Luthor. She loved this job, yes, but committing treason or genocide were hard passes for her. It's why she was relieved that her boss' request was the exact opposite: flowers. Lots and lots of flowers to be delivered to the other woman that Lena loved – Kara Danvers. “Get as many flowers as could fit in her office,” said Ms. Luthor, before adding, “...then keep going”.

Jess returned to her desk with a grin on her face. Jess had initially been wary of the CatCo reporter, but over the months Jess had gotten to know Kara. Kara was the opposite of Lena – tentative where Lena was impetuous, clumsy where Lena was composed, bright where Lena was dour. It made sense to her why Ms. Luthor was so drawn to the reporter. More than that, she liked them together. Ms. Luthor had been happier in these past few months with Kara around. It's why Jess threw herself into this with furious abandon, coming up with an assortment that included plumerias and lillies, with some baby's breath thrown in for good measure. It would cost a fortune to get them to Kara's desk before noon; Jess knew that Ms. Luthor wouldn't mind.

The flowers did the trick. A few hours after they arrived, the elevator dinged and Kara stepped out. Jess couldn't help the knowing smile that crept across her face. “She's free whenever you want to go in,” she said, gesturing for the door. Kara gave her a quick nod, then headed for the room. Jess pretended to be distracted when – ten minutes later – Kara exited Lena's office, then leaned against the door, sighing. It wasn't the first evidence Jess had seen of Kara's smitten confusion...but it was certainly the most unambiguous. It also wasn't uncommon. You could put the straightest of women in a room with Lena Luthor and eventually they'd get flustered. In her time as Lena's assistant, she'd seen it more than once. Jess made certain to guard against those types of feelings, promising herself that she'd quit the moment she felt that way. Kara snapped back to herself at the sound of Jess giving a discrete clear of her throat. Jess waved goodbye as Kara made for the elevators. For a moment, Kara confused which one was which had hit the button for Lena's private elevator. “Fingerprint Analysis Incorrect, Please Try Again” came a computerized female voice. Kara let out a little laugh, embarrassed. Eventually the correct elevator made its way to Kara and she stepped on, stumbling a bit as she did. “What a ray of sunshine,” Jess thought.

Day bled into night as Lena ruminated over her interaction with Kara between bursts of work. Lena clicked off all but a few of the lights in her office, letting the soft illumination spill onto the couch. Sitting in the dim light, her mind turned once again to Kara. She couldn't be making it up, right? It wasn't just her that felt like there was something more between them. Lena certainly hadn't anticipated it – not because she wasn't into girls, but because Kara wasn't her type. Her last girlfriend, Natasha, had been more like her: brooding, intense, sarcastic. They'd broken up when Natasha got famous for some web series. And while there were moments she missed Tash, Kara had acted as a much needed balm.

In fact, Lena had originally considered Kara to be unserious and uncomplicated. She'd met girls like Kara before – nice and sweet, easily flustered when Lena would flirt with them. It was an enjoyable sport for Lena and harmless enough for all involved. Eventually the girl in question would throw herself at Lena, they'd have a passionate one night stand, and the girl would move on. Replaying their history together in her head, Lena had come to conclusion that the article about the alien scanner was when her feelings toward the reporter began to shift. She began to take notice after that of how Kara moved, the way she smiled, the things she liked. It was brave of Kara to admit that she'd wanted to print a hatchet job against Lena. Never before had any of the girls like Kara ever been this brave, this bold. Slowly it dawned on her that there were no girls like Kara. Few people became more enigmatic the more time you spent with them. That was the case, though, with Kara Danvers.

Kara's sunny attitude belied steadfast convictions about justice and decency and her genuine demeanor meant that Kara could never mask her lies to Lena. That wasn't entirely a failing of Kara's, though; Lena was a Luthor, after all. Lies were as much part of the atmosphere in which Lena was raised as any of the noble gases. By eight, she knew whenever one of her parents were lying to her. It's why Lillian stopped – largely – trying to manipulate her with direct deception, instead preying on Lena's insecurities and emotions. And it's why Lena considered it ludicrous that Kara felt the same way as her. That tenacity of Kara's – that stubborn inability to disguise her feelings – would have shown Lena that Kara loved her. Something would have betrayed it. Doubt stabbed at her. Maybe she was projecting it. After all, nobody could ever love a Luthor.

Lena shook her head. Nights always were harder for her. It was when the thoughts she kept at bay became the most intrusive. She buried her face in her hands and sucked in a long, deep breath. Then another. And another. It was one of the few things she'd found that could calm her down when she began spiraling. If her abuse at the hands of Lillian had caused her to think this way, then it had also forced to develop strategies to keep the worst of it contained. She willed herself to accept that Kara could love her. That she was valuable and decent. That her mother was wrong and her legacy as a Luthor could be something other than genocide. This time, it worked. Maybe it was the fatigue of the past few days, she didn't know, but the thoughts receded.

As the anxious knot in her stomach began to unkink, she opened her eyes. It was only then that she noticed the glowing green light pouring through the gaps in her fingers. The light seemed to shift and pulse, as if humming into a rhythm all its own. Lifting her head, she saw that it came from a thick, malachite-colored ring floating in the middle of the air. For a moment Lena believed herself truly mad, but she'd been through worse and never had she once become so stressed that psychosis had gripped her mind. Whatever this was, it was real. She reached forward and slipped the ring onto her right middle finger.

A surge of green light enveloped her and the ring began to speak to her. Wait, no. Not speak. The ring was gifting her with knowledge. It poured into her in waves. First came an understanding that this was a ring granted to her by the Guardians on the planet Oa; then, an explanation that the ring was driven by the willpower of the person that wielded it; and finally, that the ring had chosen Lena precisely because she had so often been tempted into darkness and fear, only to stand true against it. It was understanding that her suffering hadn't been in vain.

Then came another wave. This was different that the ones that preceded it. It wasn't quite knowledge. It was more...instinctual. Words welled up inside her, demanding to be brought into the world.

“In brightest day,” she whispered.  
“In blackest night.” She stood now, her voice stronger.  
“No evil shall escape my sight...” The words felt natural to her as she spoke them. More knowledge flooded into her mind. She saw the history of the Green Lantern Corp stretching out behind her. Names like Abin Sur, Hal Jordan, and Jessica Cruz flooded her mind. They belonged to versions of Earth different than hers', but the echoes of their actions had brought Lena to this time and place. It filled her with a certitude about her place, her mission.

The next words she spoke clearly, as though she'd been holding them in her entire life:

_“Let those who worship evil's might,_  
_Beware my power – GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!”_

A wave of energy washed over her. Gone was the leather top and black pants she wore. They were replaced by a form-fitting costume that covered her whole body, save for her fingers. It was mostly black with pops of green along her shoulders and pelvis, with stylish green boots to tie everything together. As Lena examined herself, she idly mused that she wished she had a cape like Supergirl's. There was a flash of energy and a cape unfurled behind her. “Of course!” she thought. The costume was an extension of her. It was willed into being by her. And if she could will into being cape, then maybe...

She held up her hand and concentrated. The light from the ring grew brighter, then coalesced into a plumeria. She watched it dance in the air, drifting slowly downward. It listed to the right and as Lena followed its gaze she noticed Jess for the first time. The plumeria disappeared as Lena's concentration broke.

Jess motioned for the door. “I was just checking to see if you needed anything, but um...I think you're okay? So I'm gonna go...” Jess made a tentative step away.  
“Jess, wait. I know you're scared, but...this isn't what it looks like.”  
“It kinda looks like you've got some ancient and powerful ring that gives you the ability to create stuff out of thin air.”  
“Okay maybe it's a little what it looks like. But don't go.”  
Jess sighed and then crossed her arms. “Fine. But I'll need a raise if I'm going to be covering for your superheroics.”  
“60 grand extra a year?”  
“70. And an extra sick day.”  
“Deal.”

Her first week, Lena threw herself into reconnecting with some of her shadier contacts. Her Luthor name was still valid currency in markets that dealt in less-than-reputable ventures. It didn't take much to convince people that Lena was capable of living down to the family name. In a few short days, she'd developed a network of less-than-reputable folks willing to give her the latest on everything seedy, dirty, and twisted. It was during the second week that she got a tip from one of her contact – a squat man named Kolozny that spoke, curiously, in a thick Irish brogue – about some arms dealers. She wasn't sure she was up to the task, but when Kolozny mentioned that they were carrying arms that could take down Supergirl herself, Lena knew she had to act.

That first fight was such a rush for her. She described everything to Jess in great detail when she got back to her office: how she'd come bursting in through a window only to find herself facing ten-to-one odds, how for a brief moment she felt her power fading as fear coursed through her, and how the thought of Supergirl standing between her and certain death at the hands of Cyborg Superman (twice) pushed the fear away.

Squaring herself, she willed a shield into being ahead of her just as the thunderous roar of gunfire punctuated the silence. The arms dealers – and what Lena assumed were the arms dealers' clients – were split in two groups of five. She advanced toward the closer of the two, not much caring which one was which. The gunfire dissipated as she closed into melee range. She dropped her shield as one of the arms dealers took a swing at her. Lena dodged left, then struck with her right hand. It caught the criminal in the ribs. She worked her way up his body, her left fist connecting with his sternum. Lena followed on with a quick right hook to the man's jaw. Just before it landed, she willed the ring to magnify the blow's strength five-fold. It sent the man flying backward, tumbling into the other four behind him.

With the first group dispatched, the remaining members in the warehouse opened fire again, spreading out to avoid being bowled over. She summoned another shield, expanding it horizontally to cover the torrent of lead coming at her from increasingly oblique angles until it had formed a bubble around her. She knew that it was possible to split her will across more than one thing at once, but she had never tried it. Sure she could've spent the time perfecting it before, but where was the fun in that? Keeping the forcefield around her, she willed herself to fly. The shield held as her feet lifted off the ground. These guys were screwed. They knew and she knew it. She willed herself toward the first guy – some schlub with an AK-74 and a faux-hawk. Lena grabbed him by his shirt and tossed him against a wall. She landed on the ground in a crouch, spinning to her right and firing off a wild blast of energy that hit another one of the dealers in the head. He stumbled back and then dropped to the floor, conscious thought fleeing him faster than the remaining three dealers toward the exits. They didn't get far. Lena swung her fist in an arc, firing out three green bolas. They sought out their targets and one by one the remaining men fell. It was over. She'd won.

“That. Sounds. AWESOME,” were Jess' first words when Lena finished relaying the tale. “Wait, but you're back here,” Jess said worriedly.  
“Yeah, so?”  
“So, I didn't see you come in. Which means you – the Green Lantern – just flew into Lena Luthor's office. In broad daylight...”  
“Shit.”  
“Yeah, so get that ring back on and go fly somewhere else. I'll start doctoring the tapes and start looking through vacant L-Corp properties you can use as a hideout.”  
Lena slipped the ring back on her right middle finger. “You're a lifesaver, Jess.”  
“Any time, Ms. Luthor.”  
“Lena.”  
Jess smiled. “Lena.” She watched as Ms. Luthor – Lena – flew away, then she got back to work.

By the time Lena got back an hour later, Jess had devised a solution. Lena Luthor was genius. She was a child prodigy that enrolled at MIT when she was fifteen and still graduated in a year-and-a-half. To impress Lena Luthor was folly. Nobody impressed Lena Luthor, save for a certain Kryptonian and a certain reporter at CatCo. It's why when Lena said she was impressed by Jess' plan that Jess dismissed the flush in her cheeks as the result of flattery.

Luthor Plaza was the only station ever built as part of LuthoRRail - an abandoned railway project that Lex had devised in the waning days of his reign as CEO of Luthor Corp. National City was a tangle of highways and public transit projects had stalled for years at the hands of greedy politicians. Sensing an opportunity for good PR, Lex committed a billion dollars to bring the city's mass transit network into the modern era. Lex had even connected the executive elevator system to the station to show his willingness to ride the train himself once built. The initiative hadn't helped turn around public opinion of Lex, though, and work was abandoned after only Luthor Plaza and a mile long stretch of tunnel had been built.

The elevator chimed and Lena stepped out, Jess trailing behind her. In its dis-used state, the passageway to Luthor Plaza had become inhabited by some subterranean species of mammal. Lena ignored it and moved down the hallway, heels clacking against the tile beneath her feet. As they walked, Jess managed to regain the lead. She turned as they got to the double-doors leading into Luthor Plaza.

“And here it is...” Jess pushed open the door with a theatrical flair. The white tile flooring was covered with years of grime and pockmarked with concrete pillars that jutted from the floor to sustain the weight of L-Corp Tower above it. Off to the left of the main platform were a row of three empty vendor kiosks. The space was empty and secluded. It reminded Lena of the Paper Street house from Fight Club. And it was, above all else, a perfect hideout for a budding superhero.

Jess spent some of her off hours turning it into a usable space for when Lena was out and about. She set up a table and a small bank of computers hooked into the feeds of Lexcurity, Inc. - a wholly owned subsidiary focused on security solutions for banking and high-end jewelry. Lex had used the leverage of owning the security to banks to ensure they would keep doing business with him...despite any unseemly rumors that might've been moving around. Lena had convinced most to stay on at a cut rate, a move that felt downright prescient given her new path in life.

Lena's good fortune continued when someone tripped a silent alarm at National City Central Banking – Lexcurity's oldest client. When she got back, Jess was waiting. Lena relayed the tale of how she'd defeated the robbers, how she'd singlehandedly rescued Supergirl, and what she did after that.  
“You kissed Supergirl?” Jess spun the jealousy creeping into her voice toward exuberance. Wait, jealousy? Why was she jealous of Supergirl?  
“On the forehead...” Lena pulled off the ring then turned to face Jess, a wolfish grin on her face. “There's always next time, though.” As happy as she was for Lena, Jess' stomach still dropped. She'd felt this feeling before. It was familiar. It was almost...heartbreak. Jess gave a dry swallow. Somehow, she'd fallen for Lena Luthor.

Jess broke the promise to herself because she stayed after that. If Lena were just her boss, she could've rationalized leaving. It would've been logical. Except Lena Luthor wasn't just her boss anymore. No, she'd gone and become something noble. Jess knew there was no way out. She was going to stay...even if it meant she'd have to practice every measure of restraint. The hug she gave to Lena that day was the first she'd allowed herself to give after discovering her feelings. It's why when Kara Danvers arrived to talk to Lena about Green Lantern, Jess was more than a little apprehensive. She wanted to protect Lena...and she wasn't sure that was Kara's agenda. She didn't want to see her boss-turned-friend and crush get hurt. She let Kara into the room anyway, though, because she couldn't deny Lena Luthor.

Lena didn’t even have to entreat Kara to sit on the couch with her - Kara made her way over instinctively. Despite her simmering pain at Kara’s article, Lena nonetheless loved how Kara had become so familiar to her. She knew that if anyone would understand what the Green Lantern was trying to do, it’d be Kara. So Lena started talking about all the good that the Green Lantern had done. Kara nodded along. A dull headache throbbed in her skull and her ears still rang a bit from the device that had whammied her, so it wasn't until Lena said “I know the Green Lantern” that Lena had Kara's undivided attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so yes. I went there with Jess the Secretary. Trust me, though, I have a plan. I hope you're gonna like it. Also, at least in my version of Supergirl Lena gets together with Kara so regardless of what I do I'm already doing better than The CW?


	3. Northbound Collision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena underestimates Kara as a reporter and finds herself in a tricky situation. Before she can figure it out, though, another crime draws both her and Supergirl's attention.

“Well, I don't know her _identity_ or anything,” Lena backtracked, reading the shock on Kara's face, “but whoever it is, they stopped by my office a week ago.” Lena clicked a button and some security footage began to play on the TV screen. Jess had done some truly impressive work. Lena was sitting on the couch when Green Lantern flew down to greet her. Lena was startled, but she smiled. Kara recognized that smile – the same type of smile that she'd only seen Lena give to Supergirl. Green Lantern was quickly becoming her rival in more than one way...even if Kara couldn't quite shake the memory of Green Lantern's soft lips on her forehead.

“I'm sorry for the charade, but The Green Lantern wanted me to keep it a secret.”  
“Did she say why she stopped in to meet you?”  
“I guess she just doesn't have that many friends she can trust...and I can relate. It wasn't until she outed herself that I could tell you.”  
“So you've talked to her since then?”  
Lena was simultaneously impressed with Kara's reporting skills and irked that Kara had caught her off-guard. “Yes. We're buddies.” Lena cleared her throat. “She also wanted to get in touch with you. Maybe set a meeting? She um...read the article.”  
“Ah. The 'menace to society' thing.”  
“Precisely.”  
“That was Snapper's doing, but I'd love to meet her all the same.”  
“You would?”  
“An exclusive with the newest superhero in National City might get him to take me seriously.” Kara gave a resigned shrug.  
Lena cocked her head. “He doesn't already with Supergirl at your beck and call?” Lena said with a chuckle.  
“Supergirl is at nobody's beck and call,” Kara scoffed.  
“Kara. You can't lie to me.”  
“Fine. Maybe we're close.”  
Lena arched an eyebrow. “How close?” Insinuations dripped from her words.  
“Not _that_ close.” Kara rolled her eyes. “Supergirl's just a friend. Besides, I'm going through...a fallow period. Romantically.”  
“Bad break-up?”  
“No, nothing like that I just...there was a guy.”  
“Mike of the Interns?”  
“Ugh, was it that obvious?”  
“That he wanted to date you? Yes.”  
“Y'know...I must be the most oblivious person in the world when it comes to this stuff.”  
Lena considered agreeing with her, but instead she reached out and gave Kara a friendly pat on the shoulder.  
“Hey, these things are complicated. You can never quite know.”  
“Yeah...” Kara dropped her head, looking away.  
“So what changed your mind?”  
Kara shrugged again. “I dunno. It was right after I got your flowers.” Lena did her best to not let the excitement get to her. “Cat sent me this email and it got me...re-evaluating things in my life.”  
“Oh.”  
“He left soon afterward.”  
“Left?”  
“My life. He left my life.”  
Kara looked at Lena again, and a yearning pang struck Lena in her gut. They sat there like that for a moment, just staring, before Kara broke the silence.  
“So anyway, not really trusting myself right now--” Kara sighed “--no matter how much I might want to.”  
“You'll get there. You're Kara Danvers.”  
Kara smiled at her. There was a sadness in her eyes that Lena couldn't quite place. “You'll set up the interview with Green Lantern?”  
“Uhh- um- yeah. Yes. Absolutely, Kara. I'll text you the details tonight .”  
“Thanks, Lena.” They both stood. Lena extended a hand, preparing for another awkward handshake, but found herself surprised when Kara pulled Lena into a hug. It was the first one they'd shared since Lena had brought her flowers. Lena closed her eyes and let the moment wash over her. Kara told herself this wasn't about her budding rivalry with Green Lantern. She was, as usual with things of this nature, deeply in denial.

Jess waited a few minutes after Kara left to step into Lena's office. Lena was back at her desk, staring at her Surface.  
“So...how'd it go?” She'd seen the red glow in Kara's cheeks as the CatCo reporter made her way to the elevator. Jess could empathize, but all the same she hoped that Lena would be stingy with the details.  
“It went really well. That tape you made? Impressive work.”  
Jess swatted the compliment away with her hand. “Ah, it was nothing. I just used some of L-Corp's proprietary real time motion mapping tech combined with some CGI and matting. Pretty basic stuff.” Jess shrugged.  
“Hey. None of that. You're a genius, Jess. It's why I hired you.”  
“To be your assistant.”  
“Knowing that one day you'd go on to do great things. Speaking of which – I'm meeting Kara later and need to prepare.”  
“Like on a date? I'm so happy for you!”  
If Lena hadn't bought Jess' feigned enthusiasm, she didn't let on. “Except it's not really a date so much as she's interviewing me as The Green Lantern.”  
“Wait, what do you need to prepare for, then?”  
“The ring. It operates off of willpower. That requires concentration. It requires not being afraid. If I'm afraid or not able to concentrate, then I accidentally out myself to Kara.”  
“Don't you kind of want to do that, anyway?”  
“Not now. I don't want her thinking it's some trick. Or that I was doing this for her. A Being Green Lantern...it's about something larger.”  
Jess nodded. “Alright, then. I've got a plan. Meet me in the Plaza in about...an hour.”

Lena wasn't sure what to expect when she stepped off the elevator. Jess had been sending cryptic hints to her phone, geeking out about “how cool it was gonna be” and how more than likely Lena would “flip out (in a good way)” when she saw what Jess had planned. But as the doors opened, the station looked exactly how it normally did. It's why she was more than a little startled when she saw Kara step out from one of the kiosks that Jess had converted into a workroom. “Kara, what-”  
“Relax, it's just me, Lena.” Kara said.  
“Jess?” Kara produced a small remote and hit a button. Her skin shimmered and instead standing in front of her was Jess.  
“Simple holographic field combined with a voice modulator.”  
“Quite impressive, Jess.” There was that word again. Jess couldn't help but enjoy it.  
“Thanks! You said you wanted to prep for a meeting with Kara Danvers. Well, now you can.” She hit a button and Kara shimmered into being again. “Okay, so let's see if you can fly while answering some questions. If you're able to not freak out, you've got this.”

Lena nodded. She produced the power ring from her pocket, then slid it onto her right middle finger. Her costume materialized around her as she willed herself from the ground. It felt more taxing than it had before, fear nibbling at the edges of her will. All the same, she glided up into the air past Jess.  
“You ready?”  
Lena nodded, locking eyes with 'Kara'. She felt her will falter a bit and did her best to concentrate on something other than how beautiful Kara was to her.  
“First question. Why are we just hearing about you now?”  
“The Green Lanterns are responsible for an entire sector of the galaxy. Earth falls in my sector.”  
“What's your response to those that think you're a vigilante or a menace?”  
“I took an oath to protect every planet and every living being in the sector.”  
'Kara' nodded in approval. Lena felt some of the worry ease away.  
“This isn't as bad as I thought it would be,” she said, allowing herself to complete a lazy flip in the air.  
“Keep going!” She prodded.  
“Are you a member of Cadmus?” The word echoed in her head and for a moment the memory of Lillian's abduction and manipulation sapped her will. 'Kara' noticed the energy around Lena flicker, but then it came back even stronger as Lena pushed the thought away.  
“We can stop if-” 'Kara' began.  
“Why? I'm fine.” Lena shrugged, floating backward. “Seriously. Ask me anything you want.”  
“What do you think of your assistant?”  
“I think she's wonderful.”  
“Favorite position?”  
“CEO.”  
“Thoughts on Lex Luthor?”  
“Violent criminal, glad he's in jail. See?” Lena did a loop in the air.

“I've totally got this!” 'Kara' was beginning to get irked. She knew Lena well enough to know that Lena was bluffing. “There's nothing-”  
“I'm in love with Lena Luthor.”

Fear surged through Lena. She knew it wasn't Kara, but hearing Kara's voice say the words tugged at something deep inside Lena. She had always been afraid of acting on her impulses toward Kara because of Lex, but this was different. It was a more acute, breath-stealing anxiety than she'd experienced before, a power keg of will-sapping emotion. What if someone found out she was the Green Lantern? The fear prickled through her nervous system, adrenaline pushing her heart rate higher. What if they went after Kara? She imagined what might have happened to herself if Supergirl hadn't been around. She'd be dead at least three times over...all because she just happened to be close to Supergirl. Blood rushed in her ears. She could feel the power of the ring fading, as if she'd been underwater and were running out of oxygen. Could Lena even save Kara from anything like what she herself had been through? How strong was she, really? Doubt and fear consumed her. Her ring went dark and she tumbled toward the ground.

When Lena awoke, Jess was holding her in her arms.  
“Good question,” Lena whispered. Jess laughed, swiping away a tear from her own cheek with the back of her hand.  
“I'm sorry,” Jess said.  
Lena give her a sincere smile. “You were doing what I asked. Now I know where I'm vulnerable: Supergirl-” she grunted as she pushed herself into a sitting position “-and Kara Danvers...” Jess slid a hand along Lena's back, then pulled her in for a hug.  
“I thought maybe I wouldn't have to choose, Jess.”  
“I know...maybe you should hold off on meeting Kara as The Green Lantern.”  
Lena took in a shaky breath, then exhaled slowly. “The ring saw my ability to overcome fear. I have to, y'know...overcome.” Lena pulled away from the hug (a moment too soon for Jess' liking), then stood.  
“Whatever happens, I just need to accept the possibility that I might lose Kara Danvers.”  
An alarm sounded from the bank of computers nearby. Jess hurried on over. She slid smoothly into her chair, cracking her knuckles. “Hey, how about your clear your head by stopping some jerks trying to hijack an L-Corp armored car?”

“Now that I can do,” Lena said, confidence rebounding. She willed the suit back into being and took flight. As she buzzed past, Jess tossed her an earbud. Lena caught it and sped away down the tunnel. Jess watched the glowing green trail disappear, then turned back to the computers.

When Lena found the armored car, it was speeding down The 101 – one of the many highways that crisscrossed National City. Flanking the car were a black SUV and a motorcycle. As she got closer, the driver of the motorcycle revved the engine, darting forward in front of the armored car. Then they slammed the brakes, sending the motorcycle careering backward into the vehicle. The motorcycle and the driver hit the front of the armored car with a booming CLANG, the front of the armored car crumpling inward as if the motorcycle were instead a wrecking ball. A puff of smoke and debris obscured Lena's vision as the armored car skidding to a halt, the SUV beside it following suit. Three men, all in black, clambered out of the SUV. The first one out had a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder, clutching an MP5 in his hands. Across his waist was a grenade belt, the safety pins jingling as he strode toward the broken transport. The second man had a tight grip on a large crowbar. The last held a spreader-cutter combitool in his hands – the type typically used to rescue civilians trapped in a disabled vehicle from danger. 

They worked with clockwork efficiency. The man with the combi-tool jammed it into the reinforced driver's side door. It whirred to life, engine revving as ripped and tore through metal. The man with the munitions stepped forward. He unclipped a concussion grenade from his belt and tossed it through the hole in the door. It clattered down near the driver's feet, then exploded in awesome, disorienting assault of light and sound. Now the man with the crowbar went to work, finding purchase and leverage as the man with combi-tool continued to tear through the hull. After a few moments the door swung open. The guard in the passenger seat was slumped against the airbag – unconscious, not a threat. The driver had his hands clasped to his ears, eyes squeezed shut. He whimpered in pain. It didn't take much to pull him free from the vehicle. 

The rear door of the armored car was outfitted with a biometric palmprint reader. The guard, urged onward at by the man with the MP5, shuffled around the side of the vehicle. His vision wasn't quite back yet and his ears stung. His eyes were puffy from pain and fear. As he raised his hand to enter his palmprint, he wondered how long it would be after the electronic lock disengaged before these men ended his life. He closed his eyes. He dared not open them, even as he felt himself pulled backward toward the ground and then a wave of force rush past him. It was only a few moments after that when the security guard dared to peek. He saw, through the haze of the flashbang, a figure in green descending from the sky – her cape billowing out behind her.

Lena touched the ground. Her ring glowed with power. The would-be hijackers were strew across the highway. The guard – one of her employees – was suspended above the ground on a floating gurney. Lena began to lower the gurney to the ground when she heard someone yell, “Hey!” She turned just in time to see a man with steel skin throw a fist toward her jaw. With her concentration broken the construct of the gurney dissolved, the hapless security guard crumpling to the floor. Lena redirected her will towards a personal force field.

Even dampened, she felt the pain scorch through her nerve endings. She stumbled backward, doubling over - dazed from the hit. Acting on instinct, she thrust her right arm forward towards her attacker. In that moment, she put her engineering prowess to work. She needed something that could wound a man of steel, but not kill him. Something that could concentrate the force of the blow in a uniquely devastating, but survivable, way. About 150 PSI would do that. She'd seen industrial air rams and crushing devices break apart rock formations as though they were little more than paper with less force. The handle of the device, including a brace for her arm, materialized first. Spindly lines of green energy coalesced into the housing for the pneumatic cylinder at the core of the contraption. That same energy pushed inward, creating the cylinder itself. Then the energy pushed upward from the cylinder, first a thin line and then a flat disc: the striking plate. Lena willed every mechanism necessary into place - gas compressing inside the cylinder, the striking plate ready to deliver a brutal, crushing hit.

She squeezed the trigger and the cylinder let out a loud hiss – the striking plate racing forward to greet the steel man's collarbone. It struck with the thunderous screech of metal-on-metal contact, catching the man in the left shoulder. The force was so great his feet left the ground. He completed a half corkscrew before he slammed into the side of the armored car, colliding where the 'O' in the L-Corp logo emblazoned along the side of the vehicle had been painted. Lena grimaced for a moment, then dismissed the worry: she was going to have to pay the deductible on the now thoroughly ruined vehicle anyway. A little more damage wouldn't hurt.

The man slumped to the ground, panting. One more shot from the air ram would do it. She glanced down and noticed that the construct was badly mangled. The housing for the striking plate and the cylinder had snapped from the force of the hit. The striking plate itself was bowed backward and crooked. The cylinder gave a high-pitched whine, a gout of pressurized air escaping from it. Lena checked her math and assumptions. Harder than steel, despite the looks. Which meant more reinforcement. Lena willed the air ram to fix itself. The strike plate unbent. The cylinder resealed itself. The housing righted itself, snapping back into position. Lena imagined an extra lattice of support for the housing and then materialized it into being. She had precious little time to admire her repairs, however, as the steel-clad man clunked to the asphalt of the highway, then stood back up. He rubbed his shoulder where the air ram struck him.

“Fancy tricks. Who the hell are you?”  
“Green Lantern.”  
“Name's Girder,” he said, lunging toward Lena. She only caught the red and blue blur out of the corner of her before Supergirl's diving punch connected with with Girder. It sent him tumbling backward. Supergirl righted herself, then turned to face Lena.  
“You again.”  
Lena shrugged, doing her best to not focus on Supergirl's intensely blue eyes. “What can I say, I'm popular with the bad guys.”

Lena broke into a wide smirk. So did Supergirl. And in that moment of camaraderie, neither noticed the robber unzipping the large duffel bag. It was only when the Kryptonite weapon powered up that Supergirl glanced over. It was already too late, though. The blast didn't hit her, instead sizzling through the air past her shoulder. It didn't have to hit Supergirl, though. She felt the effects of the Kryptonite radiation sapping her strength. Girder took the moment to grab Supergirl from behind, pulling her into a suffocating bear hug.

Lena started toward Girder and Supergirl.  
“No,” Supergirl croaked, “them.” She motioned toward the rest of the robbers. They were back on their feet as well, each armed with a Kryptonite rifle. Lena nodded. The air ram dissolved, the energy behind it redirected toward creating a barrier between Kara and the Kryptonite-powered weaponry. She did her best to block out the sounds of Supergirl struggling behind her, to keep focused and centered on the moment in front of her.

“Girl of Steel, huh?” Girder hissed in Supergirl's ear. “Well, I'm the Man of Steel.” Supergirl dropped her head then reared back – slamming it into Girder's nose. He groaned in pain and Supergirl took the moment to break free from his hold on her. The back of her head stung. Under any other circumstances this would've been an easy fight, but with the Kryptonite radiation still affecting her the odds were a coin flip. One wrong move, one mistake...and Girder would win. Punching him wouldn't do – a few hits and she'll break bones. Flight is too risky. Same with her heat vision. 

And it's now that she's glad Alex trained her how to fight. She dropped into a defensive stance as Girder lumbered toward her. “Y'know, they said you were tough,” he sneered. “Guess they shoulda said, for a girl.” He tossed a wild haymaker at Supergirl. She thanked Rao that her enhanced speed and reflexes were the last thing to fade when poisoned by Kryptonite as she side-stepped the blow. She grabbed his arm and tripped him, slamming him into the pavement.

The crash drew Lena's attention. The shield which held the munitions fire at bay flickered. Not by much, but it was enough to let through a fragment of one of the K Rifle's blasts. It refracted wildly, streaking off through the air.

Supergirl tightened her grip on Girder's arm, then pivoted. She lifted him back off the ground. She had this. Then green light clouded her vision. Her knees buckled. She collapsed, Girder tumbling a short distance away from her.

Fear stabbed at Lena again. It almost whispered to her, taunting her, beckoning her to submit. She would do no such thing. Dropping the shield, she willed the construct to change into a slithering mass of chains. They struck out at the robbers, restraining them. Then she turned her attention to Girder and Supergirl. She was prone on the ground, not moving. Girder stood over her, a maniacal glee in his eyes as he cocked his hand back for a coup de grace. Lena willed one of the chains to wrap around his wrist. She willed the chain to move, pulling him toward Lena at a blinding speed. When he was close, she let go of the chain's hold on his wrist. He stumbled forward onto his knees as she reformed for the air ram again.

Girder cast his gaze upward. “No,” she growled, then pulled the trigger. The striking plate rushed forward again, hitting Girder squarely in the back. It didn't break. It didn't bend. Her will was strong. Girder hit the pavement with a grinding thud, his limbs splayed out. He groaned, stirred, then went limp. Lena turned back to the robbers and discovered that the security guard had relieved the munitions man of his MP5. He nodded past Lena in Supergirl's direction. “I've got them. Go be a hero.”

Lena took Supergirl into her arms. The Kryptonian was breathing, but her breaths were shallow and rapid. She was shaking. “DEO,” she whispered. Lena nodded, pressing the earbud in her ear. “Jess, where's the closest DEO facility?”

Jess froze at her desk. “Is hacking the DEO's intranet treason? Because I'm pretty sure it's-”  
“Supergirl's hurt, Jess.” Lena's voice crackled through the speakers at Jess, echoing through the silence of the Plaza.  
“Dammit. That's such a trump card. Okay...” She cracked her knuckles, then set to work. There wasn't enough time to crack the DEO's sophisticated defenses. However, once she'd discovered that the DEO had compromised Lena's emails – a subject she'd not had the chance to broach with Lena just yet – she'd used the data recovered to probe the DEO's defenses...just in case she'd decide that Lena was worth treason. Jess could never pass up a good puzzle and her mind had been considering what steps she could take to defeat their security measures. Whoever had done the work was impressive, to say the least. She didn't have the time. But she had an IP address and that was enough for her.

Lena floated in the air. Supergirl was struggling against her grasp, not quite lucid. “Astra,” she groaned.  
“Shhh, it's okay – I'm here,” Lena whispered. Supergirl stilled in Lena's arms, still shaking but no longer struggling. “Jess?” Lena implored.  
“Almost! Ah! Here we go! They're located in downtown.”  
Lena hugged her friend close to her chest, beating back worry as best she could, then willed herself to speed toward the building Jess mentioned. She would let the fear get to her at another time, but not now. And a few scant minutes later she landed on the rooftop of the DEO. Waiting for her were J'onn J'onzz and Alex Danvers.

“What happened?” Alex asked, rushing to Supergirl.  
“They had some sort of Kryptonite-based rifles.”  
J'onn narrowed his eyes. “You can't come in”.  
“Tough. Hook me up to whatever device you need to. Lock me up if it helps, but I'm not leaving her side.”  
J'onn stared at her for a moment, then relented. “Spoken like a true Green Lantern.”

They rode the elevator down in solemn silence. When it reached the main floor of the DEO's downtown headquarters, a stretcher was waiting – along with Winn Schott Jr.

“Oh, man,” he muttered as Lena – with Alex's help – deposited Supergirl onto a stretcher. She recognized him from the gala she'd organized earlier this year. He'd been helpful. Brilliant, even. They wheeled her down past the alien monitoring center at the heart of the DEO. Lena let herself take in the technology of it – the way they'd strung together disparate systems into a finely tuned mechanism – to distract from the sheer horror that would've come by recognizing even for a moment that Alex mentioned Supergirl's pulse being thready. They moved into an adjoining room just off the main space. Lena helped lift Supergirl off the stretcher and onto a flat bed with a bank of high-powered lamps hanging above it. And then, she waited.

During the first hour, she answered questions from Alex and J'onn about the men with the weapons. Alex relayed the news that the rifles they used – whatever they were – had detonated before they could study them. The explosion wounded all three of the robbers along with a cop. They were at Mercy Medical undergoing surgery. Girder fled in the resulting chaos. Alex and J'onn doubted he'd resurface any time soon. As time bled into the second hour, Winn stopped by to ask Lena about her ring. He seemed fascinated by the notion that the ring contained a computer governed by an artificial intelligence. Lena gave curt, polite answers until Winn left. More hours passed with Supergirl under the yellow sun lamps. Lena didn't move. She pushed away the word 'coma' from her conscious mind. Her thoughts emptied out of her until only each passing moment remained, observed fleetingly then discarded for the next. It was during the sixth hour that Supergirl began to stir again. Her eyes flitted open. Slowly, she propped herself up. Lena stepped toward Supergirl, a smile on her face. For a fleeting moment Supergirl looked disappointed to see Lena – as if she'd been expecting someone else. Then Supergirl's expression shifted into a warm smile.

“Keep this up, people will think you're a damsel,” Lena quipped.

Supergirl chuckled. “I'm no-one's damsel.” Lena nodded in agreement. 

“K- Supergirl!” Alex stood in the doorway next to Hank. She muscled past Lena and hugged Supergirl. Lena turned and made for the door to the room. Supergirl would survive, that was what was important. As Lena reached the door, J'onn motioned to her.

“Thank you,” he said before adding, “Ms. Luthor,” in a low voice. 

She blinked, then remembered the encyclopedia of knowledge the ring had shoved in her head. Green Martians read thoughts. He'd known the moment she landed. He'd trusted a Luthor. Lena gave a perfunctory nod, allowing herself to smile as she exited out into the main drag of the DEO's headquarters. Once again she took in the technical marvel of the DEO. The prowess of it all helped soothe her battle-worn and adrenaline-soaked mind. This was a place that could do real good...and she was allowed entry despite her name. From behind her, she heard a familiar voice.

“Hey!” Lena turned to see Kara Danvers standing behind her, holding a pad of paper and a pen. “You still owe me an interview with National City's newest hero,” she said, an innocent grin spreading across her face.  
“Kara, what're...” Then Lena knew. On some level she always had, but now it had been made explicit. No more insinuations. Winn Schott worked here. Alex Danvers worked here. Of course Kara worked here because-

“Supergirl...is Kara Danvers,” Lena said.  
“Uh-huh!” Kara gave an exuberant bob of her head. “Normally I wouldn't reveal it, but you've saved my life twice and J'onn trusts you - and I've never seen him trust anyone ever before. Like...ever. And I know you're friends with Lena Luthor but don't tell anyone, it's a-”  
Lena willed away the mask covering her face.  
“-secret...”  
The rest of Lena’s costume disappeared - willed away by the ring and replaced with the black leather dress she was wearing before danger struck. Neither of the women move for a long time, each taking in this moment.

Kara, finally revealed to the woman she loves.

Lena, finally her own hero.

Lena pulled Kara in for a hug - the ring shining with brilliant green light. “You know we still have to do the interview...right? ” Kara whispered. Lena laughed, a tear streaking down her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 4 should be coming next week. I should warn you that just because they know each other are superheroes doesn't make their lives easier. Complications and problems abound for these two lovable dummies.


	4. Cold Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jess decides to make improvements to Luthor Plaza in an effort to distract herself, but her knowledge of the DEO's hack could threaten the nascent alliance between Lena and Kara.

The ring had traveled through the darkest corners of the galaxy to make its way to the pale blue planet in front of it. Orbiting a yellow star, it was unremarkable - save for its inhabitants. There was one here who could put right what the Corps saw as a great injustice. The ring began its descent, glowing yellow as it hit the atmosphere. Rivulets of flame ensconced it. Tonight, the Corps would gain a valuable candidate. The ring could sense the electromagnetic vibrations from here. It oozed and dripped and pulsed and bled through every fiber of the candidate. Such untapped, untamed power...

* * *

Jess was fast asleep in one of Luthor Plaza's kiosks. In the past few weeks, it had become a makeshift spare bedroom. The conversion happened in such subtle degrees that she'd not recognized it. She'd promised herself she'd maintain a comfortable distance from L-Corp and Lena Luthor. Out of her friends, she had always been the strong, steadfast advocate for a healthy life/work balance. Now, though – as she missed out on _another board_ game and wine night – her own friends bombarded their group chat with a chiding refrain of “Life/work balance!”. She knew they were right, but she also knew it didn't matter. Jess had become part of something greater than herself. Could Tiffany claim her corporate law gig saved lives? Was Tiffany an ally to a member of an intergalactic corps of peacekeepers? Did Tiffany even mind that her clients were repeat detainees in Cell Block X? No. Didn't think so, so Tiffany could keep quiet.

Jess made sure to leave out the part where she'd fallen for her boss. She had plenty judgy opinions about that turn of events all by herself. It's also why she had made a gradual withdrawal from the group chat. She knew how her friends would react. Jess couldn't stomach Beverly - another lawyer - spouting HR law at her. She could deal without Alice - the budding social worker - analyzing her every word for hints of trauma. And Nicole's attempts to lure Jess from her job had become infuriating.

It wasn't okay that she'd let herself get into this situation. But – like quicksand – the more she struggled against it, the more she sunk down deeper into it. She hadn't even considered the notion that she was moving into Luthor Plaza until it was too late. It had started as a coping mechanism. Every time her thoughts drifted to Lena, she'd force herself to think of Luthor Plaza instead. She poured herself into making the abandoned railway a functioning superhero lair. Nights after work spilled into whole weekends below ground. As the projects became more involved, she found herself too tired to drive back to her apartment. That first evening, Jess grabbed a spare pillow from Lena's couch and used it to rest her head. A few days later, she'd taken an old sofa from company storage. A week of long nights ended with her buying a cheap mattress online. Lena was less than enthused when she found out. “I don't want this to be your life,” Lena said, her eyebrows knitted together in concern. Jess hated her for being decent and understanding in that moment. “Tough,” Jess shrugged. “I'm doing this for me, too. Lena, how many people ever get to say they helped the world the way that you get to as a Green Lantern?”

Lena sighed. “At least expense the mattress.”

“Wouldn't that make you my sugar daddy?” Jess teased. Lena let out a genuine laugh. Jess lived for that laugh. She'd been around Lena long enough to know when she was faking – when she was a Luthor or a CEO instead of herself. Even after the ring chose her, Lena had never been anything other than genuine toward Jess. Jess knew that Lena's lack of interest was genuine, too. The worried knot in her stomach deepened.

* * *

It was night when the ring broke through the clouds above National City. Ink-dark shadows cloaked the buildings. A chill hung in the air. That the town even existed was a testament to the will of its inhabitants. Settlers had long ago bent and twisted the desert's harsh conditions to their whims. Out of sand-strewn barrens, they had forged a glittering oasis. It was, by all rights, a city whose existence was an act of defiance. The ring abhorred it. All it saw was the messy chaos of foolhardy children...and the danger they posed to The Corps' righteous cause.

* * *

The crime monitoring system - CMS, for short - gave off a low hum as Jess contemplated her next project. A workout room seemed like a worthy investment. But a workout room without the proper facilities would mean dealing with Lena, her skin drenched in sweat...

Shower. Yes, a shower would have to come first. It also solved a personal problem for Jess. The late nights had necessitated a change of clothes and a place to sleep. Those amenities were clear and obvious. Less obvious were the hours she spent racing home to maintain her hygiene. A shower she could solve. So she decided to build a shower.

Google and a few trips to Home Depot turned out to be a great starting point. When she built out the CMS, she'd studied the blueprints of Luthor Plaza. Nothing short of L-Corp's fiber-optic network would suffice for her needs. Not only did the plans note where the junction box was, they'd also detailed that there was working plumbing within the kiosks. This turned out to be a lie. While the core of the structure was complete, the plumbing only ran as far as the restroom sinks. She was thankful they still worked. After all, a high IQ and a knack for tools could only take a person so far.

Jess turned off the water to the sink at the far edge of the restroom, twisting the valves until they squeaked. Then, she pummeled the ceramic bowl of the sink into oblivion with a sledgehammer. She didn't have to do it, but the aggression helped drain away some of the feelings winding inside of her. She caught her breath...then got to work.

The end result was crude but effective – a bare pipe bolted to the concrete wall, racing toward the ceiling. A utilitarian shower head sat at the terminal end of the tube, about a foot above her. At chest height, she'd installed a simple faucet. The bathroom already had a built-in drain near the center of the room, the floor sloped toward it. Jess considered it a small miracle. She pulled off her clothes, then twisted the faucet. A spray of cool, clean water greeted her. The sensation was bracing - almost glorious. It felt indulgent, a wonderful salve to her lonely, overworked frame. Jess laughed, reveling in her victory. She stood under the shower for a few minutes, letting the cold wash away her distractions.

She redoubled her work on Luthor Plaza after Lena kissed Supergirl on the forehead. It wasn't – she told herself – a means of wooing Lena. No, this was about surviving the feelings. Her ire turned to the intermittent hiccups that plagued L-Corp's network. She was new to the world of Internet security. She was able to meet some "security professionals", though, courtesy of Lena's connections. They worked off books and in cash only, teaching Jess their secrets. One of the consultants recommended that Jess get Smo̞.Kit. An anonymous hacker had released the toolset onto the Internet months ago. It came with a repository of tutorials - and a request to use the tools for noble causes only.

Her voracious appetite for this work came as a surprise to her. It wasn't the illicit thrill. That couldn't explain it. It was the control. Building something physical and tactile was nice, but this felt like magic. It was like being able to walk through walls. She could go places others couldn't. On a lark, she broke into Tiffany's email. She didn't bother to snoop. That wasn't the point. It was knowing that she could and Tiffany couldn't.

Then she turned the tools inward. There were any number of reasons, she now knew, to explain the issues with their network. On by one, she ruled them out. Nothing could explain it. She was about to give up when she noticed something. It was small, almost imperceptible, but it was there: a fragment of hexadecimal data that didn't quite fit.

When she ran the string through a hex converter, it spat back “ws_deo”. The latter part of she recognized. The DEO didn't exist the same way past organizations like it hadn't existed, either. Nothing official. Nothing public. Only rumor and insinuations. The “ws_”, though, she couldn't decipher. Jess asked around using Lena's dark web of contacts. Rumors said the DEO operated in National City, but nobody was exactly sure where. The “ws_” was a dead-end, too. It wasn't a location within the city. Even the “security professionals” shrugged off her questions of how someone could actually locate the DEO. She'd made some headway testing their security, though. She found a single IP address and probed it for vulnerabilities. She couldn't tell where it was – only that it existed.

The “where” came to her as Lena begged for a solution. Supergirl needed the aid of people that had violated Lena's privacy. The sheer wrongness of it made Jess' mind spin. Coherency dissipated. The control she'd cultivated fled. Instead, her mind jumped to her friends. She sat in the back row of an embarrassing excuse of a black box theater. Jess sat next to Tiffany - who had co-written the trainwreck unfolding in front of her. One of the lead characters talked about black holes. “They don't,” he said, “detect them.” The lead gave a flourish of his hand. “They detect their absence," his voice registering a melodramatic waver. Then he turned to the audience, sullen. "Like me.” Jess stifled a laugh and spent the rest of the night assuring Tiffany it had been an ill-timed cough.

Black holes. The thought punched through the noise and her mind focused on it. The absence of traceable Internet traffic might be enough to– Yes, one building in downtown National City had no internet traffic heading to or from it...an impossibility given the high draw of energy going to the building. Nobody in 2017 spent that much on power and didn't get at least some broadband. It wasn't definitive. It was a guess...she was glad that it paid off.

Lena arrived back at Luthor Plaza that same night. She talked in excited tones for the better part of an hour. Jess had never seen Lena Luthor, queen of poise and restraint, so giddy. Lena told Jess how she'd saved Supergirl's life. That Kara Danvers was Supergirl, can you believe it? Lena told her to put some time on the books in the coming week for Kara to come in and interview Lena. That night, Jess googled how she might add a tub to the shower and what the price of a hot water heater actually was.

Jess woke up the day of the interview – a Saturday – bleary-eyed and dreading it. There weren't going to be any distractions to hide behind. She'd have to see Lena swoon over Kara. Lena let slip that Kara was bringing someone else with her, too: some guy with questions for her about the technology she was using. He seemed flummoxed that she'd managed to find the DEO. She had some questions for him, too, about how he could justify breaking into a private company's emails.

The chime of the elevator to Luthor Plaza brought Jess back to the present. Lena stepped out of the executive access hallway and joined Jess. For a few moments, Lena was still. Quiet. Then she began to pace back and forth, the sound of her heels against the tile floor echoing down the abandoned train tunnel. A minute later she stopped, turning to face Jess.

“There's a shower in the bathroom,” she said.  
“Yep.”  
“You built it?”  
Jess nodded.  
“Nice...why am I nervous?”  
“Because you're in love with her.”  
Lena let out a small groan. “I really am.” She drew in a deep breath, then released it. “Okay. That shower, does it have warm-”  
“No.”  
“Perfect. Towels?” Jess pointed toward the kiosk she inhabited. “Thanks. It'll only be a few minutes.”

* * *

The ring flew over the sprawling metropolis below, closer to finding its target. The light from it dimmed as it passed by skyscraper after skyscraper. Something was drawing it off course. Another source that could wield the ring...perhaps with more skill and power than the other candidate. L-Corp Tower loomed in the distance.

* * *

Jess took the opportunity to saunter over to the CMS and flop into the chair next to the powerful array of machines laid out before her, trying her best to not let the concepts “Lena” and “shower” enter into the same sentence. Instead, she looked at how she might access the DEO remotely without detection. She'd even reached out to see if she could track down whoever built Smo̞.Kit, though that had been an exercise in futility. Every IRC message went unanswered, every trace of Smo̞.Kit's creator scrubbed from the Internet with meticulous precision. Somewhere out there, though, someone knew who built these phenomenal tools. It was another place to focus her energy – yet another task to keep her busy and free from pining over Lena. 

She spent fifteen minutes on it before she heard the whooshing noise coming from the tunnel. Kara and her lackey would be here any second. She glanced up and saw Lena stepping out from the bathroom wearing her Green Lantern outfit. Lena locked eyes with Jess. Jess raised her eyebrows and Lena nodded. Yes, she was okay. Mostly. The red and blue blur decelerated and Kara landed with Winn. Lena broke into a wide smile. 

“Welcome to Luthor Plaza!” She said. Jess glanced away as Lena made her way over to Kara. She didn't want to see them hug. She could be happy as long as she had distance.  
“It's...well, it's..homey?” Jess registered the sincerity in the man's voice.  
“Winn-” Kara began, but Lena just laughed – a CEO's laugh, Jess noted.  
“It's fine. C'mon. I'll give you a tour and Winn, you can chat with Jess.” She perked up when she heard her name, focusing back in on the conversation. Jess saw Kara and Lena headed into one of the kiosks she'd converted into a workshop. She'd soundproofed it somewhat so that Lena could train without being disturbed. Part of her wanted to protest right now. To tell Lena how the DEO hadn't trusted her. But Lena loved Kara and the last thing she wanted was to be the one to tell her that the organization Kara belonged to had violated Lena's privacy. Instead, she looked at the man walking toward her with a messenger bag slung over his left shoulder. 

“Hi! I'm Winn.”  
Jess narrowed her eyes until they were slits. “Uh-huh.”  
“So you're kind of brilliant.”  
“Kind of?” Jess scoffed. She noted to herself that she was even beginning to sound like Lena.  
“Okay, not kind of. You're brilliant. I mean, how did you even figure out where we were?”  
“What's your last name?”  
“Oh, sorry. I'm Winn. Winn Schott.” He extended his hand. She glanced down at it, then spun back to face the CMS. Her deft fingers typed in a command and pulled up the converted hex string, then spun back to face him. His eyes followed the motion. After a moment the smile fell from his face.  
“Uh...I can explain-”  
“Give me one reason, _ws_deo_ , that I shouldn't walk over to Lena right now and explode this partnership before it even begins.”  
Winn caught something from her inflection. He glanced over to the workshop, then back at Jess.  
“Oh, man. You've got it almost as bad as I did.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“You felt the way you did on some level before she got all heroic, right? But then afterward it was like everything was dialed to a million.”  
“I don't-”  
"The fierceness, the protectiveness...the way you want to be a hero for her? You're in lo-”  
Jess jumped up from the chair and clamped a hand over Winn's mouth before he could continue.  
“Kara has superhearing and I'm trying to not make this awkward,” Jess whispered. “Can you be cool?”  
Winn nodded his head. Jess inched her hand away from his mouth, prepared to snap it back into place should he talk too loud. He didn't.  
The next sentence he spoke was barely above a whisper. “Sorry if I got any saliva on your-” Winn gestured vaguely toward Jess' hand.  
She ignored it. “You've gotta tell her about what you did,” Jess said.  
Winn scoffed. “How?”  
“I don't know, but you have to. You don't know Lena like I do. Trusting people for her isn't easy. It takes hard work because she's used to being betrayed. Does Kara know?” Winn shook his head. Jess let out a small huff. “You think I don't regret it? The first time I met Lena, she saved everyone's life – including Kara's. And yeah – I was complicit in doing something monumentally wrong, but Lena isn't blameless. Nobody knew what side she was on. She launched a missile with an alien virus into the sky. And Kara won't say it, but even she thought Lena was a lost cause up until the moment that missile detonated. It was an impossible situation to be in.”

"You have to tell them. Both of them.”

“Okay. I will, just- I have to find a way to do it.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

A long beat of silence stretched between them before Jess broke it- “Your building pulls in a lot of electricity but there's no sort of signals of any kind coming off of it. It's shield-”  
“Shielded. And if you know we're in National City...”  
“Then it's like a giant sign to anyone looking to knock on your front door.”  
“Thanks for the advice. Can I give you some about...” Winn gestured toward the workshop. Jess nodded.  
“Give it time and it fades. You'll remember that you lived without it.” A wistful smile spread across his face. “Then one day you'll wake up and it won't be so bad. In the meantime...” He pulled out a business card and handed it to Jess. “In case you need help forgetting.” Jess' eyes flashed up to meet Winn's, her eyebrows raised. “Oh, god. Not- I-I mean, as a friend. In a friend way.”  
Jess stifled a smile. Instead, she held up the card and examined it. “CatCo Magazine IT Department?”  
“We all have our humble beginnings. And it's not like I can give you one that says, 'DEO' on it.”  
“Don't need to, what with the way you're advertising to every bad guy on the planet.” Jess cracked. He laughed and she smiled. The awkward tension between them had broken, shifting into something else. Jess caught herself stifling a smile again and realized she couldn't deal with what that meant. Not now.

“When are you telling Kara?” Her voice was louder than she intended.

“Telling Kara what?” Lena's voice echoed across the gap from where she stood with Kara at the entrance to the workshop. Jess hadn't heard the door slide open. How she wished in that moment she could take it all back – asking that question, confronting Winn, discovering the hack in the first place...

Now it would all be laid bare. If Winn wouldn't do it, Jess would. She owed it to Lena to be truthful. Jess took in a deep breath, then spoke.

* * *

The building grew larger and larger as the ring quickened its pace, bearing down on the glass-and-steel spire. L-Corp Tower was massive now and yet the ring sped toward it all the same. It was almost at the windows now, seconds away from colliding with the tinted glass. Then it shimmered and disappeared. Whatever drew it off course had dissipated.

The ring became corporeal again above a small stretch of desert outside of National City. According to every official record, the tract had no current tenants. A toxic spill rendered the land uninhabitable years ago. Chain-link fences sporting biohazard symbols surrounded the perimeter. At a distance, the land was calm. Still in only the way that death can make possible. But beneath the Earth, the machinations of Cadmus ground onward. It had found its target, roaming the halls of the underground complex. It dove toward the surface. It could spare no more time. Lillian Luthor sat alone in her personal quarters within the secure Cadmus bunker. Law enforcement had seized much of her property in the wake of her daughter's betrayal - her collection now in the hands of philistines and preening socialites. Nonetheless, she'd absconded with a few pieces. Priceless artwork hung on the walls. The sheets on her bed transcended the term “luxurious”. To Lillian, it was a reminder of the cause she'd inherited from her son. Humanity was a beautiful thing to be protected. It was up to those like her to push back against the invaders of this beautiful planet; to protect humanity's continued existence as a species. There was no alternative. No way out. Luthors did their best when backed into a corner, for if nothing else they understood how to survive. And yet, she was losing.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, a tired, frustrated groan escaping her mouth as she did. Cadmus had wasted valuable time developing that synthetic Kryptonite. It proved as unstable as the same formulation that powered John Corben. Though, if she was honest, the synthetic Kryptonite wasn't what nettled her. While the setback was distressing, her scientists assured her of a breakthrough. Soon she could flood the streets of National City with enough synthetic Kryptonite. Then even a street thug could end that irksome blonde menace. All they'd need is a touch of ambition, decent aim, and a synth K-laced bullet...or ten.

No, it was the other unpredictable green element that sparked fury inside her: Green Lantern. “Without the interference of that brunette interloper,” Lillian mused to herself, “Supergirl would be dead.” Green Lantern's actions had been a surprise. She was, by all accounts, human. She ought to understand how dangerous these aliens were. Yet she fought side by side with Supergirl. And at every turn, Green Lantern had neutralized Cadmus' latest efforts.

Lillian at first suspected someone inside her organization had turned ranks. It wouldn't be the first time a misguided soul grew to sympathize with the intruders. Aberrations like this occurred, but what mattered was not to let it spread. All one needed was to decimate sympathy and leave only cruelty to flourish in its place. An internal audit led to the "retirement" of twelve active agents. Even afterward, though, Green Lantern continued her crusade against Cadmus unimpeded.

It was a harsh blow to morale. Whispers of Lillian's weakening grasp on the situation reached her ears. She felt alone. Isolated. Her position within the organization was tenuous now. She checked her watch – Hank Henshaw was late. This was a man who had sacrificed parts of his humanity to ensure his race's dominance and survival. A man of the utmost punctuality. His being late to discuss the inner workings of a cause for which he'd done so much was an oddity. Another aberration. Lillian let out a small huff, then composed herself. It would do no good to be angry or worried. She didn't have to question Hank Henshaw's loyalty. He saw the true nature of the fight. The loss of identity for him wasn't figurative - some creature assumed his life. It walked and breathed and talked as him. And Hank Henshaw would not rest until J'onn J'onnz suffered for what he stole. Beneath his bravado lived something else. What drove Hank Henshaw wasn't anger. It wasn't vengeance or hubris. It was fear. It was at the center of his being – a roiling, twisted thing that sprawled out into every action he took. It was why Lillian was sure of his loyalty - fear was easy to manipulate. She took her time to stand, then made her way to the door of her quarters. If Hank wasn't going to come to her, she would find him.

She pressed her hand against the palm-print reader. It gave an affirmative bleep and the door slid open, yellow light piercing through as it did. On the other side of the door was Hank Henshaw. And on his right middle finger was a yellow power ring. At long last – a weapon with which to defeat Green Lantern. Cadmus would rise again...and all those who stood in their way would crumble beneath fear itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear - nay, I _promise_ you in the most emphatic way possible - that Jess gets a good ending. As for Lena and Kara, well...they've got a tough road ahead. No relationship, not even friendship, is an easy task. If you think they are, tell me the lies you tell to yourself to get into that headspace. I want to know them.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm going to be switching to a bi-monthly release schedule from here on out. GL!Lena deserves the extra due diligence and a lot of what happens next involves a lot of moving parts to get right.


	5. Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The DEO hack causes a rift between Kara and Lena.

Lena wasn't wearing her power ring as she descended in the executive elevator to Luthor Plaza. She'd set it aside ahead of the interview, concealed from anyone who might try to find it. The impulse to do so had been building ever since she'd agreed to do the interview with Kara. Revealing herself had been a rash move, but what she felt ran deeper than regret. Her life had been punctuated by that particular emotion's sting. She understood what it felt like to have spears of remorse and confusion stab at her. She knew too well what it was to second-guess and doubt her actions. Every fiber of her being recognized the well-trained voice of deceit that roiled inside her. Lena had become deft at dodging those emotions. For them to even harm her was a fluke. What she felt now had crippled her for days. Shame wasn't the right word for what she felt, but it was close. It had been fine when she'd agreed to interview Kara Danvers, well-meaning and upstanding friend of Supergirl. Now, though...she wasn't so sure. Kara would see through whatever Lena said. She'd see that Lena had been... _pretending_. When she'd accepted the oath and become a Green Lantern, there was a small voice that whispered how this might be a mistake. That perhaps the ring didn't mean to choose her. That whisper grew as the days turned into weeks. Now it was a low, moaning refrain. “You aren't really good,” it said. “This is about Kara.” Lena closed her eyes and rolled her head to the side, drawing in a deep breath. It had proved calming in the past. All she needed was a few moments to collect herself. 

The chime of the elevator interrupted her thoughts. There would be no calm for her. She stared out into the dim light of the executive access hallway. 

Irked at this turn of events, she nonetheless joined Jess in Luthor Plaza. Her friend stood there, waiting, her dark eyebrows furrowed. Lena had noticed the shift in Jess' mood over the past few weeks, but couldn't decipher the exact nature of the younger woman's discontent. At first she'd believed that Jess had fallen for her. It wasn't uncommon – Lena was, on the surface, a confident and attractive woman. There was allure to that, but in truth it was a habit she'd learned to survive as a Luthor. She'd been brought up in a household that taught her to press every advantage should it gain you power. Her flirtation and seduction had become something almost autonomic to her. Someone in the thrall of romance – or other emotions – was pliable and willing in a way that they otherwise might not be. There were more practical, defensive reasons, too, to flirt with those around her. Lena reasoned that if they loved you or wanted you, they couldn't hurt you. 

Yet Jess dispelled any notions that she'd fallen under Lena's sway. “I'm doing this for me,” she'd said. The certitude behind the words – and the way they dripped with contempt at the mere accusation of less-than-pure intentions – convinced Lena. Conviction of that magnitude was not something one could fake. It came as both a shock and a relief to Lena. She wouldn't have to let Jess down, but she'd also never seen Jess react that way before. Jess had always been so innocent and kind. Lena worried that she'd changed that. As much as she wanted to make sure, Lena knew not to continue. She dropped the conversation entirely. She only hoped Jess would trust her enough to talk about it when the time came. In the meantime, though, silence had crept into their conversations more and more. Any other day, Lena could bear it. Today she started to pace. It didn't help with her fraying nerves, so she spun on her heel toward Jess.  
“There's a shower in the bathroom,” she said.  
“Yep.”  
“You built it?”  
Jess nodded.  
“Nice...why am I nervous?”  
“Because you're in love with her.”  
Lena let out a small groan. “I really am.” She drew in a deep breath, then released it. “Okay. That shower, does it have warm-”  
“No.”  
“Perfect. Towels?” Jess pointed toward the kiosk she inhabited. “Thanks. It'll only be a few minutes.”  
Lena let the water slide over her, appreciating the chill. It helped, a little, to alleviate the nervousness blooming inside her. She made sure not to get her hair wet. “Presentation,” Lillian had once lectured her, “is more important than any truth”. Lena's young mind recoiled from the notion, but it had nonetheless rooted deep inside her. When she decided to take back Luthor Corp and reshape it into L Corp, her mind first leapt to how she would present it to the world. What would she say to the endless press inquiries asking how she was different? She practiced the phrase over and over. First until it was rote, dry, and emotionless...and then until she could say it in a way that might even convince herself.  
The lie at the center of it was that she wanted distance from the Luthor name. She knew nothing could be further from the truth. Part of her had hoped to redeem the Luthor name. Yet, she questioned her own motivates, leaning into the cold, cynical part of her psyche. It was self-interest, she assured herself. She'd ignored the signs of Lex's deteriorating mental state until it was too late. Then she'd watched him nearly succeed in destroying Superman. This was her way of shirking culpability while appearing moral.  
She ignored the naive voice, small and tucked away in the back of her mind, that knew the real reasons. It had been easy until Kara. Kara and her damn morality. Why couldn't she just let Lena be? Lena could've lived a nice, long, uncomplicated life full of plaudits from politicians and film stars. She could've been a hero in name only and that would be enough. Then Kara saw through it. Not in a way that was cruel, or taunting, or even overt...but yet all the same Kara urged Lena to be better. It had sunk in. More and more, she'd begun to feel uncomfortable at the notion of being...ordinary. In that moment, soaking in the cold, she resented Kara. Lena understood how misdirected and illogical the idea was. She abhorred herself for thinking it, but she couldn't force herself from the thought.  
Lena twisted the faucet and the flow of water ceased. She sat for a moment longer, drawing in shallow breaths, her mind still fixed on her resentment. Her own deep breath inward pulled her back into the present. She reached for a towel and unfurled it. As she ran the fabric across her skin in careful, calm movements, Lena noted Jess' good taste in linens. Jess. She didn't think Lena was a fraud. Somehow, that made it worse.  
Dry and numb – she couldn't tell if it was from the water – Lena dressed and made her way out to join Jess. Before she got the door, she paused and thought of the ring and Kara. It's not as though Kara would be arriving as herself. She'd be arriving as Supergirl. Lena called the ring to her. It was a technique she'd spent time perfecting and iterating. The ring wasn't magic, it was technological. Willpower was energy, nothing more. At the heart of the ring was a sophisticated AI. It's why she hadn't tinkered with it more - it felt as though she were altering someone's mind and home. The notion put her on edge. Still, with a few commands she'd made it so the ring would come to her when called. No matter where. It appeared through a small distortion in space-time and slid its way onto her finger. In a flash of light, she became Green Lantern of Sector 2814. She stepped forward, her cape swishing behind her.  
Lena heard Kara before she saw her. By the time she'd joined Jess out in the main thoroughfare of Luthor Plaza, Kara was close. The sound of the air rushing through the tunnel was thunderous. Lena glanced at Jess. The young Asian woman raised her eyebrows, a look of concern on her face. Lena nodded. She'd get through this. Then there was a blur, the sound dissipated, and there stood Kara Danvers and Winn Schott Jr. Lena had faked a smile before, but this one seemed tougher.  
“Welcome to Luthor Plaza!” Lena said, striding toward the two. From the corner of her eye, Lena saw Jess glance away. Kara smiled at Lena, spreading her arms. Lena gave her a quick hug.  
“It's...well, it's..homey?” Winn gave a sheepish grin as he said, hoping to convey the decency of the remark – even as the words ran contrary to it.  
“Winn-” Kara began, but Lena just laughed. It was the type of laugh she'd practiced many times. The one that hid how Winn's comment had sliced deeper than intended. What he was saying was clear - “this isn't a superhero's base of operations”. The look of surprise on Kara's face told Lena she'd not done a good job. Or Kara could see her pretending even if she was wearing the suit. Still, she persisted.  
“It's fine. C'mon. I'll give you a tour and Winn, you can chat with Jess.” Lena gestured to Jess and then turned to head toward the workshop. 

Kara sat down in a chair across from her. Reaching into the waistband of her suit, she produced a small notepad and a pen.  
“Impressive,” Lena mused. “Never know when I'm gonna have to be Kara Danvers or Supergirl...” Lena nodded. Kara nodded. Neither of them spoke for a long moment. Kara grinned, letting out a nervous chuckle. “Why is this so weird?”  
“I don't know,” Lena chuckled. That was a lie. She knew why this wasn’t going well.  
“But it is, right?”  
“Yes. Yes, it is.” Worry coiled in her stomach. Kara was close to seeing her. The real her. The imposter.  
“You're...Green Lantern.” Kara didn't bother to hide the astonishment in her voice. There it was. Not even Kara – who'd once entreated Lena to be her own hero – could understand why the Guardians would pick her. Embarrassed, Lena went to pull the ring from her finger. Kara noticed. “Wait.”  
“Why? Me being here dressed like this is-”  
“You don't- Lena the reason I'm at a loss for words is...” Kara shrugged. “It's like everyone else is seeing you now the way I've always seen you.”  
Lena sighed. The way that Kara's inflection pushed too heavily toward placation. “Kara?”  
“Yes?”  
“I think we ought to reschedule.” Lena rose and made her way toward the door, camouflaging the hurt she felt. “Lena, wait-” Lena looked back at Kara.  
“I grew up around liars, Kara. I know when someone's trying to handle me.” Lena pulled the door to the kiosk open and heard Jess' voice echoing through Luthor Plaza. “When are you telling Kara?”  
“Telling Kara what?” Lena's voice echoed across the gap from where she stood with Kara at the entrance to the workshop. Jess took in a deep breath, then spoke. “I found out-”  
Winn stepped in front of her. “Jess found out that we-” Winn glanced to Kara, then back to Lena- “the DEO...we um...hacked you?”  
Kara put a hand on Lena's shoulder. “I-”  
Lena shrugged it away. “Just go, Kara.”  
Kara stepped around to face her. “Lena, please. You have to-”  
“Just. Go.”  
Kara met Lena’s gaze. She relented. “I'm sorry.” Kara's words were shot through with regret. 

Kara and Winn departed with a burst of air, speeding away down the tunnel. It was only after a few long minutes – when the two could be assured that Kara was out of earshot – that Jess spoke again. 

“I didn't know how to tell you...I was trying to find a way to...” Jess sighed. “I screwed up.”  
“I'm not mad at you, Jess.”  
Jess blinked, recoiling at what she'd heard. “Why?”  
“You've been nothing but kind to me.” Lena pulled the power ring from her finger. “Maybe even when I didn't deserve it.” She tossed the ring into the workshop, then made for executive elevator. “Lena, can we...talk?”  
Lena sighed. “I'll be working most of Sunday, but you shouldn't feel like you need to come in.” “Lena-”  
“I'll need you on Monday, though.”  
Lena slipped into the access way. Jess didn't follow after her. When Lena was alone in the elevator, she let out a low, choked sob. 

* * *

Winn's feet touched the ground before Kara's. He tumbled and landed prone on the roof of the DEO building. He groaned, then pushed against the gravel into a sitting position. “You dropped me?” He said, dusting himself off.  
“It was only a few feet.”  
“I'm sorry I hacked your crush.”  
“She is not- How I feel about Lena Luthor doesn't matter here, Winn. We're supposed to be better than this. The DEO is supposed to be better. What were you thinking?”  
“Y'know what? I'm not the only one who's to blame here, okay, Kara?”  
“So now you're saying it's my fault?”  
“What? No.” 

Alex narrowed her eyes at Winn. She stood with him and Kara in the DEO conference room. “You ratted me out?”  
“Your sister is scary and I'm not facing that alone!” He rotated his shoulder, sore from Kara pulling with just a touch too much force as she hauled him to go face Alex with her.  
Kara let out an exasperated grunt. “What the heck, you two? Winn, you saw firsthand that she saved my life at the gala. In fact, you helped her. And Alex, I don't know what this is about with you, but I thought at least you'd trust me.”  
“Y'know what, Kara? I'm not gonna apologize. I was right.” Alex shrugged. “She was Lillian Luthor's daughter and forgive me if I wasn't overly trusting after Lillian abducted and tortured you. I'm responsible for every alien on this world, including you, and every alien was in danger. I did what I had to do.”  
“Don't lecture me about responsibility.” Kara's voice was low and filled with anger. “And where do we draw the line? Because if you said the same about defending humanity, you'd sound an awful lot like Lex Luthor.”  
“The difference is that we know where to stop before we become monsters, Kara,” said Winn, stepping forward.  
“You act like you're the only one in this room who's ever had to wrestle with morality.”  
“She made a device to track aliens. To track you. Did you forget about that?” Alex raised her eyebrows.  
Kara shook her head. “She's a businesswoman and- as much I don't like to say it - she had a point to be afraid. When I was on Red K, I was dangerous. Clark got brainwashed last year. And it feels like every day we're fighting some new threat from an alien world.”  
“There's better ways. The Alien Amnesty Act-”  
“Didn't calm the world down. The people I was interviewing for CatCo magazine? The things I heard? That you heard? They were saying Lex Luthor was right. How long before they'd turn against even Supergirl?”  
“Kara, it is never going to get that far. I won't let it.”  
“You don't know that.” Kara's eyes were watery. It was a fear she'd voiced only to herself, one she'd pushed away. Every moment on Earth was a fragile luxury. For perhaps the first time, Alex understood, too, the weight that came not from being Supergirl, but being Kara Danvers. The weight of having to be perfect...and the fear that one wrong move would be the end of everything Kara had clung to since losing Krypton. The room fell silent. Alex moved toward Kara to comfort her, but Kara retreated. 

“I just...” she held up a hand, palm facing toward Alex. “I'm going to the training room.” She turned and walked away. Alex sighed as she retreated. Part of her understood Kara's frustration and anger. Cadmus was still a threat. Corben's death had put a dent in their plans, but the synthetic Kryptonite that nearly felled Kara proved they were undeterred. Alex waited until the doors to the conference room closed before turning to Winn. “I think that went well...” he offered. Alex narrowed her eyes. 

Kara walked down the steps into the DEO's training room. She used to go to speak with her mother's AI, but she'd begun to avoid the room after Medusa. The illusion of it all was too real and apparent. Her mother reduced to simple lines of code running through a machine. Whatever was in that room could never be her mother. Ever since, she'd favored the DEO's training room. With Mon-El gone and James eschewing any training in lieu of what he suggested was “real world practice”, Kara had it almost entirely to herself. J'onn would stop by for the occasional sparring match, but otherwise it was calm. Isolated. 

Her own Fortress of Solitude, right in the middle of downtown National City. 

Kara hefted a concrete block and walked it over to the middle of the room. She dropped it, then hauled another concrete block over and stacked it on top. Then she punched it. Again. And again. And again, until the block let out puffs of fine powder. Mentioning Red Kryptonite had stirred up the memories she thought she'd buried. Despite the way the media covered it, she hadn't felt powerful. Not really. Instead she'd felt horrified at the power inside her and what people would do when they found out. The paranoia that gripped her still felt valid, an intrusive thought that she couldn't get rid of. She punched the concrete block again. 

Kara left after an hour, still keyed up, her mind focused on the hack...and the look in Lena's eyes when she found out. It hadn't been sadness or even anger. That's what worried Kara the most: it had been confirmation of something. As if Lena had been expecting it all along. 

She made her way over to L Corp Tower. It was late at night, but the light in Lena's office was still on. Lena hunched over at her desk, her eyes focused on the tablet in front of her. Kara made her way toward the balcony, stopping short of the railing. She knew it wasn't okay for her to be here. Lena had asked her to leave. Part of her wanted to explain, to try to arrest the conflict before it spiraled. Instead, she glided away from L Corp Tower and back toward her apartment. She didn't sleep much.

Sunday morning found Lena once again in her office, poring over an updated proposal. The voice in the back of her head, the one that spoke in hushed, insidious tones about her insecurities and doubt, was back. It had driven her from her bed at an early hour. Drowning it out had taken the numbing calm of spreadsheets, legal documents, and corporate strategy. The quiet of the building, near vacant on a day like today, help too. She was assured she could be alone with her thoughts.  
Kara, meanwhile, needed to talk. She couldn't stand the silence that had come crashing in on her in the wake of her conversation with Alex. It couldn't wait. She knew it wasn't okay, but all the same she found herself drawn to Lena's office. Like so many times before, she landed on the balcony. 

Lena heard the gentle whoosh and knew what it meant. She braced herself for the lecture about how much Kara cared. That caring would make it better. “Nobody ever sticks with a Luthor,” the voice whispered. The glass balcony door swung open and Kara took a cautious step inside. When Lena didn't react, she froze. 

“I know you're there,” Lena said, furrowing her brow. The voice was jeering her. Taunting her. It wanted her to engage with Kara. Kara slinked over to Lena's desk.  
“I'm sorry.” Lena waited for a caveat. It didn't come.  
Lena sighed and set down her tablet.  
“It's not enough.”  
“Lena-”  
“I know you don't approve of what they did, but this isn't about you. Everything I've done and still the most notable thing about me is my last name. It was a reminder - Luthors don't get to be heroes. Society won't let us.”  
“That's not true. Lena, you've helped so many people. You saved my life.”  
“And every time, I get hurt. Somehow, it always comes back to haunt me.” Lena stood, then gestured to her tablet.  
“Know what that is? It's the new proposal I have to pitch to Central Banking on why they should keep Lexcurity on staff. They figure now that National City has both Supergirl and Green Lantern, why bother? One of us will show up. They want to endanger lives because I exist.”  
“I get that you're outraged, but Lena...you're a good person. That counts. That's valid.”  
“What's valid is power. And the more I see, the more I think you can't be good and powerful.”  
“You're wrong. When I was on Red Kryptonite, I never felt powerful. In fact, I never was more scared of my power. I needed to control everything around me. I wanted to rule the world because that's the only way I could feel safe.”  
“But at one point, people liked you. If anyone ever found out who the Green Lantern was...” Lena shook her head. “They'd fear me.”  
“They would trust you. Like I do.” Kara took Lena's hand into her own. “Please, tell me this is going to be okay...”  
“I can't...but if it is, it's going to take time. Time and...” The word caught in her throat. Lena glanced away, ashamed she couldn’t say it. Kara understood. She nodded, untangling her hand from Lena's. Without a word, she made her way to the glass door to the balcony. Before she opened it, Kara turned back to face Lena.  
“I'm still me. And I'm still here, no matter what happens...” Then she was gone and Lena was alone in her office again. Lena exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Her heart thumped at an accelerated cadence. Kara had shattered her refuge from the voice that taunted her. Another wound she would deal with another day. Lena's eyes focused back on the tablet. She'd start where she could. Sunset glare hit the windows, then night enveloped the high ceilings and corners of the room. 

Soon enough, it was morning again. 

Jess entered the ground floor lobby earlier than usual and made her way past Lindy, the overnight security guard. A curmudgeon in her mid-sixties, Jess nonetheless had become close to her. Lindy liked to talk about how she had “institutional knowledge” about the company, airing grievances about times long since passed. It was Lindy who'd mentioned Luthor Plaza to Jess. "Total fiasco," she'd grunted. "Can't believe they didn't just use it for storage." More of these days, she had her suspicions about which members of the company might still be loyal to someone other than Lena. After Jess had her crash course in cybersecurity, she'd looked into Lindy's hunches. They'd all turned out to be unfounded, but every once in a while Jess would listen all the same.  
“I don't trust that Rick,” Lindy grumbled as Jess waited for the elevator. “Seems devious to me. Lex once shook his hand. You should watch out.” Jess stared forward. Any other day, she'd have engaged in polite, if feigned, intrigue at Lindy's new tale. Not today. When the elevator arrived, Jess murmured a goodbye to Lindy and stepped inside.  
Her dread grew as the elevator hummed to life, lifting her skyward. This was not a confrontation she was looking for. The doors slid open and she made her way toward Lena's office. She rested her hand on the handle, steadying herself. Then pushed her way into the room. “I know you're still angry, but Lena can I just say-” 

Jess stopped. The office was empty. 

* * *

Lena's vision swam. She didn't remember exactly when the rag slipped over her mouth, but the scent of chloroform clung to her mouth and nostrils. As her senses regained equilibrium, she saw two figures standing in front of her – Lillian, a triumphant smirk playing across the edges of her mouth, and a grim-looking man she almost recognized. He wore a yellow ring on his middle finger.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't mean for this to happen, but namehart made [this beautiful and heartbreaking piece of art](http://namehart.tumblr.com/post/157315650268/snidleyquiplash-namehart-dont-blame-me-it) with Lena hugging Kara while wearing a glowing green ring. She joked that it was a Green Lantern ring...so I ran with it, desperately trying to headcanon a way out of the tragedy on the page. I wrote a small post in that thread to save myself from dreading 2.12. It was only afterward that I realized just how wonderful Lena Luthor as Green Lantern would be. Think about it - a hero who embodies the struggles of will versus fear and rage? That's Lena Luthor magnified to superheroic proportions. Superheroes whose powers are simply a projection of who they are in every day life are, in my opinion, the best types of superhero stories. Stories like that? They make superheroes into people, but more importantly they make every day people into superheroes.
> 
> This is also dedicated to a friend of mine named Dan who passed away recently. He was a huge DC nerd. I have a feeling he would appreciate this.


End file.
